Editing Cheerleading (section)

===Growth in popularity (1950–1979)===

In 1951, [[Lawrence Herkimer|Herkimer]] created the [[National Cheerleaders Association|National Cheerleading Association]] to help grow the activity and provide cheerleading education to schools around the country.<ref name=":1" />

During the 1950s, female participation in cheerleading continued to grow.<ref>Hanson, Mary Ellen. ''Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture.'' Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ. Popular, 1995, p. 3.</ref> An overview written on behalf of cheerleading in 1955 explained that in larger schools, "occasionally boys as well as girls are included", and in smaller schools, "boys can usually find their place in the athletic program, and cheerleading is likely to remain solely a feminine occupation".<ref>Hanson, Mary Ellen. ''Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture.'' Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ. Popular, 1995, p. 25.</ref> Cheerleading could be found at almost every school level across the country; even pee wee and youth leagues began to appear.<ref>{{cite web|title=Being a Cheerleader - History of Cheerleading|url=http://www.varsity.com/event/1261/being-a-cheerleader-history.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201182310/https://www.varsity.com/event/1261/being-a-cheerleader-history.aspx|archive-date=2017-12-01|access-date=19 November 2017|website=Varsity.com}}</ref><ref>Hanson, Mary Ellen. ''Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture.'' Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ. Popular, 1995, p. 20.</ref>

In the 1950s, professional cheerleading also began. The first recorded cheer squad in [[National Football League]] (NFL) history was for the [[History of the Baltimore Colts|Baltimore Colts]].<ref name="lshs.leesummit.k12.mo.us" /><ref>Peters, Craig. ''Chants, Cheers, and Jumps.'' Philadelphia: Mason Crest, 2003, p. 18.</ref> Professional cheerleaders put a new perspective on American cheerleading. Women were exclusively chosen for dancing ability as well as to conform to the [[male gaze]], as heterosexual men were the targeted marketing group.<ref name="Hanson, Mary Ellen 1995, p. 55">Hanson, Mary Ellen. ''Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture.'' Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ. Popular, 1995, p. 55.</ref>

By the 1960s, college cheerleaders employed by the NCA were hosting workshops across the nation, teaching fundamental cheer skills to tens of thousands of high-school-age girls.<ref name=ICU_History_2018/> Herkimer also contributed many notable firsts to cheerleading: the founding of a [[cheerleading uniform]] supply company, inventing the [[herkie]] jump (where one leg is bent towards the ground as if kneeling and the other is out to the side as high as it will stretch in toe-touch position),<ref>{{cite web | title=Cheerleading Jump Herkie | url=http://cheerleading.about.com/cs/jumps/g/herkie.htm | access-date=2007-08-06 | archive-date=2011-01-15 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115171919/http://cheerleading.about.com/cs/jumps/g/herkie.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> and creating the "Spirit Stick".<ref name="ACFeb2003" />

In 1965, Fred Gastoff invented the vinyl [[pom-pom]], which was introduced into competitions by the International Cheerleading Foundation (ICF, now the World Cheerleading Association, or WCA). Organized cheerleading competitions began to pop up with the first ranking of the "Top Ten College Cheerleading Squads" and "Cheerleader All America" awards given out by the ICF in 1967.

The [[Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders]] soon gained the spotlight with their revealing outfits and sophisticated dance moves, debuting in the 1972–1973 season, but were first widely seen in [[Super Bowl X]] (1976). These pro squads of the 1970s established cheerleaders as "American icons of wholesome [[Sexual attraction|sex appeal]]."<ref name="pedia.com" />

In 1975, Randy Neil estimated that over 500,000 students actively participated in American cheerleading from elementary school to the collegiate level. Neil also approximated that ninety-five percent of cheerleaders within America were female.<ref>Hanson, Mary Ellen. ''Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture.'' Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ. Popular, 1995, p. 26.</ref>

In 1978, America was introduced to competitive cheerleading by the first broadcast of [[Collegiate Cheerleading Championships]] on [[CBS]].<ref name="ICFHandbook" /><ref name="ACFeb2003" />